Summit on the Street: Residents react to Donald Trump’s triumph

The dust is still settling and some results are still trickling in, but election season is officially over.

As results came in Tuesday night there were some tight races in Summit County as well as initiatives that passed — or failed — in a landslide. Local races in the county favored Democrats, while the national elections saw Republicans maintaining control of both the Senate and House. With Donald Trump winning the election, the government has gone red. But how are people taking election results here in Summit? The Summit Daily took a walk around town to find out.

Julie Lawless has lived in Frisco for the last 27 years. For her, the local elections went as well as she could have hoped.

But when it came to the presidential election, Lawless had concerns about the divisiveness she has been seeing in the country. She wondered if the change would be a positive one.

“I’m disappointed, but what I’m most frustrated and sad about is how divided this country is, how do you bridge that, how do you heal that?” she asked.

John Bozis lives in Evergreen, but works throughout Colorado and in Summit County with a dental lab that makes and sells crowns and other implants. He added that he likes to take advantage of some of the outdoor recreation options Summit has to offer, like biking. He worried about what a Trump presidency might mean for the outdoors.

“I’m very concerned. Sitting here in Summit County I’m concerned about the environment,” he said. “Maybe we live in a bubble here in Colorado, most everybody loves what we have here.”

He continued by saying that he worried there would be rollbacks for the Environmental Protection Agency.

Karen Humphrey has been in Colorado since 1979, while she said she did not like some of the things Trump said, she voted for him because of her concerns with standard politicians.

“I personally was quite happy about it,” she said. “I was concerned about the House and the Senate. That’s the reason I voted for him.”

She added that with Trump, things would be different. Trump drew out “sleeper voters” that many did not think would turn out for the election.

“But guess what, the country spoke, didn’t they, loud and clear,” she said. “(With Trump) it’s not going to be more of the same.”

Kim McGahey, the chairman of Summit County Colorado Republicans, said that the GOP is a minority in the county. He added that it’s harder to be elected if you are a Republican candidate.

“It makes me sad because I think our candidates are the best around,” he said.

While he was happy with Randy Baumgardner’s win for State Senate District 8, he still had his doubts about the left-leaning government in the county. He said the county is a “socialist mess,” and that he does not believe in government handouts.

On the national front, McGahey said he was not surprised by Trump’s win and is hoping that Republican control of Congress will not prevent the party from working with Democrats.

“I’m hoping and praying that Republicans wield that responsibility,” he said.

Reed Wilson, a New Hampshire resident who trains in the county with the Burke Mountain Academy ski club, said he was surprised by Trump’s win, but was happy with the results. He also thought that the Republicans maintaining control of Congress would be a benefit to Trump.

“This country needed some change,” he said. “Trump has an opportunity not only to make change, but to work the Senate and the House to do the things he wants.”

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